A Baltimore woman who founded an organization that helps women with disabilities look past their limitations to find their true potential is getting a special honor from the president. Kate Amara reports.

Janice Jackson went to the White House on Friday to receive the 2012 Presidential Citizen's Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama.

"To be recognized by the president is pretty sweet," Jackson said. "He told me that I looked pretty today, and I said, 'You too, Mr. President. You look pretty also.' I didn't know what to say. I was in awe."

Jackson, 53, said it's a personal triumph that she's already using to help others. She's also hoping to raise the national profile of her Baltimore-based nonprofit called Women Embracing Abilities Now (WEAN).

"It's a nonprofit that helps women who have suffered debilitating injuries learn to adjust to their new situation," Jackson told 11 News reporter Kate Amara. "I wanted to put a new face on disabled women and let the world know that women with disabilities are out there doing their thing, and we take pride in ourselves as women. We care about our beauty inside and out."

Jackson turned her life story into one of triumph and courage after it took a turn toward tragedy 29 years ago when, at 24, she was hit by a car in Prince George's County. She spent a month in Shock Trauma and was paralyzed. Doctors said, if she was lucky, she might be able to one day move her shoulders.

"(The driver) lost control of his car, came and hit me. I flew 40 feet into the air and broke my neck when I landed on it," Jackson said.

After two years in rehab and a lot of soul-searching, Jackson said she decided to accept her fate, get on with her life and prove the doctors wrong. She won pageants, earning the title of Ms. Wheelchair Maryland in 1993, and was even a "Cover Girl" model.

Jackson is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore, teaching psychology and ethics. She said she founded WEAN so she could share what she learned with other women in the same position.

Jackson and her team of mentors said that in seven years, they've touched the lives of more than 1,000 women.

"We mentor women with new disabilities. We help them rehab. We give them hope. We serve as peer counselors for them," Jackson said. "We know what they're going through, and we know what they're going to go through when they get back into the community. We try to tell them that even though you have limitations, you still have abilities."

Jackson said she's just a woman in a wheelchair who has had an extraordinary life.